Allows companies with up to 19 employees and up to 40 employees to submit combined annual returns and uniform registers in accordance with 16 central laws (wages, factories and contract work) Provides for the abolition of the debt bondage system. indianexpress.com/article/explained/what-labour-law-changes-mean-coronavirus-6403611/ This is the end of our article on labour law reforms in India. Let us know your other questions or share your thoughts on this topic in the comments section below. Redesign, no patchwork; well, not perfect; Green shoots, no forest. Parliament`s assimilation of 44 Union labour laws into four laws and 1,458 articles into 480 (an average decrease of 67 per cent or the deletion of two out of three articles) should create a more sustainable business environment if the relay of intent is adopted by state legislators adopting their rules in the race for growth and prosperity. The debate on the codes was largely in line with Indian parliamentary processes – the laws contain 174 of the 233 recommendations of the three standing working committees. They have put India on a faster and less hostile highway for growth. On the work front, that future includes gig economics, reduced compliance, and less red tape. But ultimately, the details of enforcement will lie in the rules that state governments adopt in their respective legislatures. The Labour Party is on the Constitution`s competing list. Therefore, the state legislatures and legislatures can enact laws that govern labor. The central government has stated that there are more than 100 state laws and 40 central laws governing various aspects of labor, such as the settlement of labor disputes, working conditions, social security and wages.
[1] The Second National Labour Commission (2002) (NCL) found that existing legislation is complex, with archaic provisions and conflicting definitions. [2] In order to facilitate compliance with labour laws and ensure consistency in labour law, the NCL recommended grouping key labour laws into broader groups such as (i) industrial relations, (ii) wages, (iii) social security, (iv) security, and (v) welfare and working conditions. The labour laws are hailed as a historic step towards labour reform and facilitating business operations in India without diluting basic workers` rights. It aims to apply labour law with transparency and accountability. [5]. “Structural Changes in India`s Labour Markets,” Chapter 10, Economic Survey 2015-16. However, the NCL also acknowledged that agency work suffers from a lack of job security and social security, low wages and the suppression of collective bargaining rights. For example, in a 2017 compliance audit of contract workers for the railway company, the CAE found that in a significant number of selected cases, the railways did not provide the requested documentation, indicating poor compliance.
[28] Of the cases where records were exchanged, it was found that in 37% of cases, contractors were not licensed, in 28% of cases, no minimum wage was paid, in 75% of cases, only an ESI registration was obtained and no inspection was conducted. The CAG`s recommendations included: (i) awarding contracts to bodies registered with the Ministry of Labour, EPFO or ESIC, etc., and (ii) requiring a comprehensive compliance checklist before invoicing contractor invoices. Improving enforcement: Various committees have recommended strengthening enforcement mechanisms by increasing staff and improving enforcement infrastructure.22,[24] The NCL recommended modernizing the infrastructure, training and facilities available to enforcement mechanisms to improve their effectiveness. In addition, it recommended that the central Government, within the framework of the State machinery for labour, establish standards to improve the quota of inspectors and the infrastructure of the ministries of labour. Various committees have also found that existing penalties for offences are insufficient and do not act as a deterrent.2,22 They recommended that sentences for different offences could be graduated according to the seriousness of the offence, the number of offences committed, and the ability to pay. Labour laws delegate various essential aspects of laws to the government through the making of regulations. These include: (i) raising the threshold for redundancies, reductions and closures, (ii) setting thresholds for the applicability of different social security schemes to enterprises, (iii) setting safety standards and working conditions to be provided and maintained by establishments, and (iii) setting standards for setting minimum wages. In India, work is a topic on the competing list. In 2020, there were about 501 million workers in India, the second largest after China.
Of this total, agriculture accounts for 41.19 per cent, industry for 26.18 per cent and services for 32.33 per cent of the total labour force. [28]. “Report No. 19: Compliance with Legal Requirements for Contractual Work Engagement by Indian Railways,” Comptroller and Auditor General of India, 2018. The new labour codes clearly state that the codes apply to all employees in an organization, regardless of their role/level/type of tasks/salary (with some minor exceptions). The rules of the four labor laws would be announced at the same time, according to the Ministry of Labor. Although the draft rules for the 2019 Salary Code itself have been released, the ministry has delayed its completion and implementation. India`s labour law reforms refer to the laws that govern labour in India. According to the Indian Constitution, they confer on all workers a category of fundamental rights, in particular equality in the workplace and decent working conditions. For a country that has nurtured a hostile habitat for entrepreneurs for decades, these four laws provide the first signs of law change. Indian companies operate in a regulatory universe of 1,536 laws requiring 69,233 compliance regulations and 6,618 submissions in Union and state governments.
Of these, almost a third (30% or 463) of the laws and almost half (47% or 32,542) fall into the category of labour. Statistically, almost all compliance regulations (97.1%) are regulated by state governments and 937% by the Union government.